Door-fastening device for silos.



E. E. HAWKINS.

DOOR FASTENING DEVICE FOR SILOS.

APPLIGATION FILED JUNE 13, 1914'. 7

1,1 32,774. Patnted Mar. 23, 1915.

INVENTOR ATTORNEY THE NORRIS PETERS 60.. PHOTCJ IYHn W4 H!NGTON. D. C

ELBERT n. nAwKIns, or UNADILLA, NEW YORK.

DOOR-FASTENING- DEVIGE FOB SILOS.

Application filed June 13, 1914. Serial No. 844,858.

i To all whom it may concern:

' Be it known that I, ELBERTE. HAWKINS, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Unadilla, county of Otse'go, and State of New York, have invented. an Improvement in Door-Fastening Devices for Silos, of

' which the following is a'specification.

' be inserted in the opening, provided for l the purpose,

from the interior of the silo and drawn into positionthrough the medium of a locking mechanism, one part of which embodies the rung'or rungs forming the ladder for the side of the silo.

My invention also comprehends details of construction which, together with the features above specified, will be better under-..

stood by reference to the drawings, in

l which Figure 1 represents-a front elevation of a portion of a silo showing the doors and fastening devices embodying my invention; Fig. 2 represents one of the fastening devices in unlocked position upon a door;

Fig. 3 represents a side elevation of the same; Fig. 4: represents a section on line 4-4 of'Fig. 1, showing a door and adjacent adjuncts in section.

1 designates the body-or frame of the s1lo which in the preferred form is of the customary'cylindrical shape bound together at suitable points by metal hoops 2 provided.

with the usual adjustingnuts 3. a

I 4 designates'the side timbers forming a vertical opening throughout substantially the length of the siloand which timbers are connected at spaced intervals by the sill members 5, thereby forming a plurality of openings one above the other, each of which is closed by a removable ily accessible;

door 6 so'that any part of the interior of the silo is made read- In connection with my improved securing means for mainta ning the doors in opera- Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Mall. 23, 1915. f

tive position'it will .be'notedthat the side timbers, as'iwell as the sills, are rabbeted and beveled as shown at 7, said bevels converging toward the outside of the silo... The doors 6 are correspondingly beveled to fit within the beveled openings, as willbe'understood." It will thus be 'seen that each r, from the interior of the siloand the: followin'g description of the fastening devices will? 1 door is adapted to be inserted-in its opening disclose the-fact that the said doorsare' closure confine the description to--=onedoor and its locking adjuncts.

8 designates a pair of'latch members each pivoted at a suitable point to the door as shown at 9, and each having a sub dra-wn'tightly into place so that the beveled I construction insures the close fit desired.

As all of the doors are substantially similar in construction and carry like'faste'ning de-u vices, I shall for the purposeof this disstantially arched or semi-spherical; portion from which a leg or brace meme ber 10 and a. tongue 11 extend. toward thedoor and form an integral part of the arched body part. The body portion of each latch is furthermore provided with a suit'a- -ble slot 12, here shown by way of example as curved and serving. to receive one leg of the" bail 18.- This bail is substantially U-shaped and is preferably provided with bent'ends- 14 which are adapted to fit within. a U-- bolt 15 suitably fixedto, the'door 6,th is connection being a hinged or pivotedcon- 'nection to allow free movement of 7 the bail.- It will be understood that the central portion ofthe bail in one position of; the parts forms the foot-piece or rung of aladder for the side'ofthesilo. l

16; designates a keeper adapted to receive the tonguell of the latch 8, this keeper be-. i

ing fixed to the door 6 adjacent oneof the side timbers 4 and, as willbe seen from Fig. 3, is inclined with respectto the door so that thedistance of the lower end from the door is substantiallyless than the upper end. 1 g

The operation' lof this. construction will be apparent when it isnotedthatthe tongue 11 after passing through the keeper 16 overlaps the face of the timber 4c and consequently when the latch is swung downwardly into locking position, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2, the obvious result is to clamp or draw the door into its opening in a positive manner. 7

Attention is directed to the fact that when the latch is in its locking position the brace member 10 takes a position vertically below the contact point of the bail 13 with the bottom of the slot 12, and as this brace member rests in contact with the door it will be evident that the weight carried by the bail when used as a ladder is distributed and the strain on the latch better sustained.

It is thought in view of the simplicity of the device that it is unnecessary to enlarge materially upon the operation of the device, but it will be noted that the slot 12 in addition to forming a guide for the bail, has the very important function of acting as a cam whereby movement of the bail toward the top of the silo causes the latch to swing in wardly out of engaging position with the side timbers a so that the door may be readily removed if desired. On the other hand, the slot also serves to impart movement to the latch when the bail is swung downwardly to its horizontal position, thus not only bringing the latch into'locking position but also through its cooperation with the inclined keeper forcing the door to its sealed position, where it is positively locked.

It will now be apparent that I have devised a novel and useful construction which embodies the features of advantage enumerated as desirable, and while I have in the present instance shown and described the preferred embodiment thereof which has been found in practice to give satisfactory and reliable results, it is to be understood that I do not restrict myself to the details, as the same are susceptible of modification in various particulars without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention.

Having now described my invention, what I claim and desire to protect by Letters Pat'- ent is 1. In a device of the character stated, a

suitable frame providing an opening the sides ofwhich are beveled toward the outer side of said frame, a door correspondingly beveled and adapted to seat within said opening, keepers fixed to said door at opposite sides thereof, and providing a face inclined to said door, a latch for each keeper pivoted to said door and having a tongue adapted to pass between said keeper inclined face and the door and overlap said frame, each latch having an arched portion provided with a cam slot,and a bail pivoted at each end to said door and passing through the respective cam slots of said latches whereby movement of said bail in one direction forces said latches into engagement with said inclined faces to draw said door outwardly into the opening provided.

2. In a device of the character stated, a suitable frame providing an opening the sides of which are beveled toward the outer side of said frame, a door correspondingly beveled and adapted to seat within said opening, keepers fixed to said door at opposite sides thereof, and providing a face inclined to said door, a latch for each keeper pivoted to said door and having a tongue adapted to pass between said keeper inclined face and the door and overlap said frame, each latch having an arched portion provided with a cam slot, a bail pivoted at each end to said door and passing through the respective cam slots of said latches whereby movement of said ball in one direction forces said latches into engagement with said inclined faces to draw said door outwardly into the opening provided, and a brace member between said door and each latch for supporting said latch and bail when said bail is used as the rung of a ladder.

3. In a device of the character described, a door frame having an opening larger on the inside than on the outside, combined,

with a door adapted to close said opening from inside outward, a 5 pair of latches hinged to the door and respectively extending outward on opposite sides therefrom to.

engage the door framevupon its outer side, said latches each having a slotted arch shaped portion and a downwardly extending strut from said arch shaped portion sliding upon the front of the door and acting as a brace, a ll-shaped bail having its arms hinged to the door and extending through the slots of the latches to move them in locking the door in position as well as in opening the same and also supported by the arch shaped portions and struts thereof so as to perform the function of a round in a ladder, and a keeper for each latch secured near the side edgesof the door and extending over the latch arms.

4;. In a device of the character described, a door frame having an opening larger on the inside than on the outside, combined with a door adapted to close said opening from inside outward, a pair of latches hingedto the door and respectively extend ing outward on opposite sides therefrom to engage the door frame upon its outer side, said latches each having a slotted arch shaped portion and a downwardly extend ing strut from said arch shaped portion sliding upon the front of the door and acting as a brace, a U-shaped bailhaving its arms hinged to the door and extending through the slots of the latches to move them 1,132,774 Y V B 'in locking the doorin position, as Well as in closer to the door surface than their upper 10 opening the sanie, and also supported by portions;

the arch shaped portions and struts thereof In testlmony of Which invention, I hereso as to perform the function of a round in unto set my hand.-

a ladder, and a keeper for each latch se- ELBERT E WK cured near the side edges of the door and extending over the latcharms, said keepers Witnesses: hELVlIlg the1r lnner surfaces made cam FREDERICK S. GALE,

shaped, and having their lower portions NELLIE M. BARTLEYLV Gopies'of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents Washington, D. O. p 7 

